The twin resorts of Magaluf and Palma Nova are the largest resort developments of the municipal district of Calvia, and are situated on the island's south west coast at the western end of the huge Palma Bay, approximately 15km or 10 miles from Palma, and the Son Sant Joan International airport.

Making the resort transfer is for most visitors fairly painless, once you have collected your luggage and cleared customs that it, and should normally take between 20 to 30 minutes, however this can and often does vary, depending upon the time of day and the sheer volume of traffic on the Palma motorways.

Having said that, for those visitors who choose to pay the additional cost for a tour operators coach transfer, although after 20 minutes you will certainly be "somewhere" in either Magaluf or Palma Nova, the final transfer time may be somewhere in the region of 45 minutes before you actually arrive at your chosen accommodation, all depending on the route taken by the driver on the day.

For most people visiting Magaluf for the first time, this unscheduled tour of the resort isn't really an issue, as it gives them an early opportunity to get their bearings, along with a general feeling as to what the area has to offer visitors.

If however, you have visited Majorca before, and feel that after already spending the last 4 hours or so either sitting in an airport departure lounge, or cramped Boeing 757, you now wish to take the most direct route to your chosen accommodation, there is always a multitude of taxis waiting outside of the arrivals hall.

Although these taxis do all operate on a fixed price basis, this "fixed price" can, and often does, vary slightly depending upon the number of suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of passengers carried, however, as a very general guide the short journey to Magaluf should normally cost somewhere in the region of 35 euro to 40 euro.

An important consideration for families with small children, is that these taxis do not as a rule carry child seats, therefore children may have to sit on their parent's knee for the journey. If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey.

The journey for those who have chosen to drive, is fairly straightforward for the most part, although a slight complication certainly worth mentioning is that in recent years the local Government on the island has re-numbered most of the roads on Mallorca, so please make sure that you have an up to date map before setting out!

The basic route for the journey is from the roundabout leaving the airport grounds take the 1st exit onto the Ma-19 Autovia de Levante heading west towards Palma, before then joining the Ma-20 Circunvalacion de Palma.

Continue along the Ma-20 Circunvalacion de Palma as it arcs around the northern residential and industrial suburbs of the city, to join the Ma-1 Carretera de Palma - Palmanova.

Continue west along the Ma-1 Carretera de Palma - Palmanova to the junction with the Ma-1c Carretera de Palma - Andratx, and at the roundabout take the 3rd exit onto Carretera de la Cala Figuera.

Continue along the Carretera de la Cala Figuera to the junction with the Camino de Porrassa and at the roundabout take the 2nd exit.

Athough from here the Camino de Porrassa takes you into the centre of the resort, this for most people, is where the problems begin, as the resort is quite large and unforgiving for an inexperienced driver.

As with the other resorts on the island, a more detailed version of this route, complete with links to maps where appropriate, is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

In theory Magaluf is also one of the few resorts where it is possible to make the transfer by public transport, although personally I'd never relish the thought of getting on a bus on the island with my suitcase and flight bag, and then trying to find the correct change.

Whatever method you chose for the transfer, once you've actually arrived in the resort, and have had time to settle into your accommodation, making the return trip into Palma for either shopping or sightseeing is fairly easy by public transport.

Throughout the day and well into the evening, buses from Magaluf to Palma run every 35 minutes or so, and at less than £2.50 for the journey do represent excellent value for money. One word of advice though, these buses can become very crowded, and have in the past been known to attract pickpockets.

Also an option worth considering when a number of people can travel together, is one of the numerous taxis that operate about the resort. Generally, fares are very reasonable, however, experience shows that it is better to agree the fare in advance, especially when going out of the resort, and always try to have the correct money (plus the obligatory tip) ready.

Although technically the dividing point between Magaluf and Palma Nova is still somewhere on the rocky headland between the two beaches, the two resorts have over the years, grown to the point where they now effectively merge into one, and during the summer months at least are without doubt everything you would associate with Majorca.

You will either have the holiday of your life or a holiday from hell, all depending on your outlook on life. In all fairness though, of the two resorts Palma Nova is very marginally the quieter, and is perhaps more suited to families.

However from the end of October to around Easter the following year, Magaluf does go through somewhat of a personality change. As the families, and the 18 - 30's begin to leave the island, the tour operators and hoteliers then market the resort very strongly towards middle aged couples and others who are able to take advantage of long winter breaks in the Majorcan sunshine.

Although many of the cafes and restaurants do remain open, the more lively music bars and nightclubs that you associate with the area, close during the week, and only open again at weekends in response to the small number of stag and hen parties that invade the town.

Both Magaluf and Palma Nova have fine sandy beaches with everything on hand to part you from your money. Watersports, glass bottom boat trips, as well as countless shops, bars and restaurants are all located along the wide traffic free promenades.

For those on self catering breaks, you will never be more than a few hundred yards from either a McDonalds, Wimpey, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut etc, and you will never starve as long as you have money in your pocket. If you do ever tire of fast food, and in all fairness to Palma Nova, you'll also find a number of more traditional cafes and restaurants along the seafront.

In comparison between the two, the beach at Palma Nova is also quieter than the one in Magaluf, however this may be simply because there is less hotels there. Although it must be said, that both beaches are usually kept very tidy, which is partly due to the fact that it is illegal to drink alcohol on the beach, or to take glass bottles of any kind on to them.

Even the most creative tour operator would never dare to describe Magaluf as being a typical traditional Majorcan town, Blackpool with sun is perhaps nearer the mark. Although having been to Blackpool on a number of occasions, it has to be said that whilst I'd never risk swimming in the sea at Blackpool, I would have no hesitation to do so here.

Nightlife here is described in many brochures as being "lively" or "extrovert", which we all recognise as being "tour operator speak", and in recognition of the huge numbers of British tourist that come to Magaluf every year, a large number of English style pubs have now opened to target this market, along with clubs and discos which in the summer rarely close before dawn.

During the summer, both Magaluf and Palma Nova are more suited for those looking for an active, action packed holiday, and are certainly not suitable for long lazy days on the beach, followed by a quiet relaxing drink in the evening. Whatever your preconception of Magaluf is, the reality is either better or far worse than you can ever imagine.

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